"Do I know them? Ah, yes, I know them only too well. They are rascals, villains, cheats of the worst order. I trust they are not your friends."
"Hardly, although I should like first-rate to meet them, and especially to meet Benedicto."
"And for what? Excuse my curiosity, but what can an American captain and gentleman like you have in common with Benedicto Lupez?"
"I want to get hold of some bank money that he carried off," answered the young captain, and told the story of the missing funds and the part the Spaniard was supposed to have played in their disappearance.
"It is like Lupez," answered Señor Romano. "He is wanted in Cuba for having swindled a rich aunt out of a small fortune; and in Manila you will find a hundred people who will tell you that both brothers are rascals to the last degree, although, so far, they have kept out of the clutches of the law—through bribery, I think."
"Not during General Otis's term of office?"
"No; before the city fell into your hands. The government was very corrupt and winked at Lupez's doings so long as he divided with certain officials."
